Norweigan name

  • FiniteBanjo@feddit.online
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    2 days ago

    Hakon comes from a name meaning “High son / Chosen son” equivalent to the Gaelic Acainn, used by many monarchs in Norway including the current one, which I suppose is similar to Patrick (“Noble” - Latin), Max (“Greatest” - English), or Rex (“King” - Latin).

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
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    2 days ago

    Acc. to Wiktionary the etymology of the Old Norse ancestor of this name is disputed, and it could be either

    1. from ON hár “high”. It’s a cognate to Old English hēah → Modern English high.
    2. from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz “horse” + ON konr “descendant”. That “konr” is cognate to English “king”.

    I don’t think there’s any good native equivalent for either. English ditched a lot of native names, as they became increasingly associated with pagans, in preference to Classical and French names (as they were “more Christian”).